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5. Digging deeper

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One of the great things about XILS 3.2 CM is how clear everything is. That said, sometimes the modular nature can be a little confusing. Here we’re going to revise a pad preset, modifying how the third oscillator has been used. To get started, load up pad preset PA EtherChurch CD. 2

The first thing to be said is that the pad has a great evolving texture and there is clearly some kind of ongoing modulation of the filter. Open the Matrix Zoom and we can see that the Trapezoid envelope is connected to the filter. Disconnect this and you’ll still hear the modulation. 3

The Trapezoid envelope connection simply affects the overall filter envelope. Look further up the Matrix and you’ll see the filter is also connected to the triangle output of Osc 3. This is being used as an LFO. Adjust Osc 3 tuning to hear what’s happening. 4

You’ll notice that Osc 3 Pitch is also connected to Keyb 1 in the Advanced Matrix. This means the evolving aspect of the pad is different depending on the note played. Play some high and low notes and you’ll hear an obvious difference in the speed of the modulation. 5

To achieve a simpler modulation that isn’t affected by the pitch of the notes played, all we need to do is disconnect Osc 3 from Keyb 1 in the Advanced Matrix. Try this and then adjust the Pitch of Osc 3 to taste to get the filter cutoff modulation speed that you want. 6

Finally, try using different Osc 3 configurations. You’ll need to patch in the Osc 3 square output as well. Adjust the Shape control, and use the individual Osc 3 waveform Level controls to adjust how much modulation they apply.